Posts Tagged ‘public safety’

Beginning this Thursday, July 1^st, Michigan police officers will have another law to enforce. The ban on text-messaging while driving will be going into effect and there are questions on how this law is going to be enforced. Police will be able to pull over citizens solely for using their cell phones to send or look at text messages.

While text-messaging and driving will be band and can result in a $100 fine the first time, dialing a cell phone is still very legal. The similarities of the two are what are causing all the questions. How are police officers going to tell the difference between dialing a number and sending a text message?  There really is not a definite answer to that question.

Texting and driving will be a primary offense, which means the police can pull over drivers just for using cell phones. At this point it is up to the officer’s judgment as to whether the driver was texting or making a call. Either way this it will be hard to prove that a driver was texting, which will make this law hard to enforce.

Surely this isn’t going to be an easy law to enforce, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be. Overall, texting and driving is a safety issue and with this law going into effect it could mean safer roads for drivers. Still, is there going to be a way to prove this and what will happen if tickets are handed out because of confusion?

What are your thought on the topics? Is this a good law to enforce and if so what is the best way for officers to enforce it? Please feel free to leave a comment, we appreciate everyone’s input.

By now many of you have probably heard of the unfortunate and tragic event that resulted in the death of a 7-year-old Detroit girl, Aiyana Stanley Jones. This horrific tragedy is now making headlines nationwide and the city of Detroit is starting to feel the pressure.

The shooting took place during a raid of a home in search of a murder suspect. The details remain unclear as what to exactly happen, but it is believed the girl was shot by one of the participating officers.

Not much is certain at this point as to what exactly happened to cause the officer’s gun to be fired. The Detroit Police Department has turned over the investigation to the Michigan State Police.

There is contradicting evidence between the media and authorities, which has continued to grab the attention of people across the country. This is on top of, well known attorney, Geoffrey Fieger’s involvement who is representing the girl’s family and has filed a civil suit. Fieger filed lawsuits both in U.S. District Court and Wayne County Circuit Court which accused the Detroit Police Department for civil rights violations, gross negligence, and conspiracy to hide the facts of the tragedy.

We know this is a touchy subject, but want to know your thoughts on what took and is taken place surrounding this unfortunate event. There have been a lot of shootings lately in Detroit, involving both civilians and police officers as the victims.

How do you feel this should be handled as law enforcement professionals? What could, or should have been done to prevent this tragedy from happening? We invite all comments on this subject, but please remember to be respectful to the situation.

We want to send our condolences to the family of the Aiyana Stanley Jones and are terribly sorry for your loss.

Complete coverage of this event can be found in detail on the Detroit Free Press website.

By: Abigail Crouse

The new FMLA regulations become effective on January 16, 2009. So what exactly does this mean for employers? The U.S. Department of Labor has made numerous changes to the regulations, and many employers are just beginning to analyze the impact of the new regulations on their organizations. In the meantime, however, there are several tangible steps that employers covered by the FMLA (i.e. employers with 50 or more employees) should take before January 16, 2009 in order to comply with the new regulations:
(more…)